Does Bruno Mars Have Las Vegas Casino Gambling Debt?
It’s no secret that Grammy-award-winning singer Bruno Mars likes to bet. He has admitted so and has mentioned gambling in his music. He was also a frequent poker player before he became a household name. He began gambling when he was underage.
In March 2024, a report from NewsNation grabbed headlines by stating that Bruno Mars had, at some point (in recent months or years), racked up around $50 million in gambling debt at MGM Resort properties. NewsNation cited a “well-placed Vegas insider.”
The report stated that Mars was repaying his casino markers through his residency at Park MGM Las Vegas. He first performed at an MGM casino-hotel in 2013.
In 2019, Vital Vegas, a prominent local celebrity news source, reported that Mars was about $7 million in debt. “It's well-known Bruno Mars likes gambling, but he may be in the middle of a cold spell. Rumor is he's racked up $7 million in losses at MGM Resorts casinos. If true, Park Theater shows are basically paying back gambling debts. Million-a-night swings aren't uncommon for high rollers.”
Based on the reporting, Mars’ gambling debt ballooned from about $7 million in 2019 to around $50 million sometime in 2023 or early 2024.
According to Vital Vegas, Mars’ game of choice was blackjack. More recently, according to NewsNation, he had been playing slot machines.
Following the NewsNation report, former NFL star and ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe said that he was aware of a story from another unnamed source that Mars had lost $17 million in one gambling session.
MGM’s Carefully-Worded Denial
MGM Resorts responded to the highly-cited NewsNation report.
“We’re proud of our relationship with Bruno Mars, one of the world’s most thrilling and dynamic performers,” the casino company wrote in a statement. “From his shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM to the new Pinky Ring lounge at Bellagio, Bruno’s brand of entertainment attracts visitors from around the globe. MGM and Bruno’s partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect. Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he has no debt with MGM. Together, we are excited to continue creating unforgettable experiences for our guests.”
What can we make of this statement? Let’s examine the sentence, “He has no debt with MGM.”
MGM Resorts owns many casinos in Las Vegas, but these properties are technically separate business entities. So, Mars could owe money to specific casino businesses owned by MGM and not MGM itself. If Mars had no gambling debt with any MGM-owned or operated casino, the casino company could have made that clear. It did not.
Is a $50 million debt believable? Yes, the dollar amount is reasonable considering the limits at which other Las Vegas “high rollers” gamble. Let’s say Mars was betting $50,000 a hand at blackjack, which Las Vegas casinos offer to special customers. Mars would only need to lose 1,000 hands (net, because he will also win many) over the course of years to amass a debt of $50 million. Blackjack is a game with a house advantage. The more you play, the more you lose.
Does Bruno Mars Have a Gambling Addiction?
Gambling on credit and racking up debt is typically a sign of a gambling problem. If Bruno Mars has gambling debt, then he meets one of the clinical criteria for disordered gambling.
However, he would need to display other symptoms to be diagnosed with disordered gambling. So, it’s impossible to say whether Mar is suffering from a gambling addiction.
If he chases his gambling losses, has a hard time quitting and is preoccupied with gambling, then he would likely be suffering from a gambling disorder. Racking up gambling debt is often because of chasing losses and difficulty with quitting gambling.
However, because Mars hasn’t publicly discussed any of these things, we can’t determine that he has an addiction to gambling.
The amount of the alleged debt is large, but it’s manageable relative to Mars’ income. Many problem gamblers aren’t so fortunate.
Read more: Famous gambling addiction stories.
Image by Young Soo Park from Pixabay.